Syllabi October 6, 2016

Last month marked the forty-fifth anniversary of the Attica prison revolt. At the outset of the four-day takeover, the prisoners released a list of practical proposals, the first of which read: “Apply the New York State minimum wage law to all state institutions. STOP SLAVE LABOR.” The all-caps demand asserted a continuity between slavery and incarceration established by the Thirteenth Amendment: While abolishing slavery, the amendment also allows for its continuance, provided that the individual in question is being punished for a crime.